


The Porter and The Doctor: New Ward, New life

by Jessymessy101



Series: Hospital Drama [3]
Category: Hannibal (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Hospital, Angst, Cute Kids, Established Will Graham/Hannibal Lecter, Fluff, M/M, Series, Will Graham - Freeform, hannibal feels neglected, workaholic will
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-22
Updated: 2018-11-09
Packaged: 2019-04-06 16:48:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 8,963
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14061207
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jessymessy101/pseuds/Jessymessy101
Summary: Part 3 in 'The porter and the doctor' series. Its been a few months since Hannibal and Will moved onto the infants ward and Will was promoted to ward manager. They are newly married and already facing some tough times, with Will always working and Hannibal feeling neglected can they overcome their problems and make it through the first year of marriage in one piece.





	1. Husbands first

Will swiped his key-card through the machine, a harsh beep followed by a hiss signalled the door releasing as he struggled through the door. His arms were full of files of paperwork that were precariously balanced in this crook of his arm as he pulled the door handle, using his chin at the last minute to stop the top few files falling off.

"Morning Mr Graham" The new receptionist at the counter greeted Will as he shuffled through the ward. Will scowled at her as he passed, not wanting any form of social interaction so early in the morning and also because she could have offered to help him carry some of the files.

"I'll be in the office, I don't want disturbing," He muttered as he disappeared into the corridor leading to the back office. He reached the end of the hall and a plain wooden door with a metal plaque donning his name and title.

_Mr W. Graham_

_Ward Manager_

It had been almost a year since Will had been offered the job of ward manager down on post-natal and infants. Things had been going well and he had managed to get the ward up and running under his supervision relatively quickly. The hospital management seemed happy with the level of care being provided on the ward and one senior member of the board even commented, during an inspection, that it was the best ward in the hospital. Will had taken quite a bit of pride in that and had revelled in his success for a good few weeks afterwards, it had driven Hannibal mad but Will didn't care, he was happy.

A knock at the door came as Will was settling into his desk for the day ready to plough through the mountain of work he had to get done.

"Whoever it is I'm not interested" Will barked at the door, not even glancing up to see who was now entering the room.

"Is that anyway to speak to a member of staff?" The accented soft voice of Hannibal floated into the room and Will felt his shoulders relax as his presence instantly de-stressed the tension that he hadn't realised was building up.

"Sorry Han, I'm just swamped this morning I'm behind on these reports...no thanks to you" Will ducked his head almost whispering the last part as a smirk pulled at his lips.

"I do not know what you're referring to," Hannibal had a hint of sarcasm in his voice as he approached the desk and perched on the edge next to where Will was currently trying to avoid looking at him.

"Don't you have patients to treat Dr Lecter?" Will still refused to look up and continued half reading a report.

"I wanted to make sure you were alright, I didn't hear you leave this morning and I doubt you ate breakfast...again...so I brought you something" Hannibal pulled put a box of Will's favourite protein scramble from the bag that Will had neglected to notice.

"I can take care of myself Hannibal" Will was semi-stern as his stomach appreciated the gesture.

"Indulge me" Hannibal growled into Will's ear sending a chill through his body.

Sighing, Will took a begrudging bite of the prepared breakfast, the taste was incredible and he couldn't help but melt into the chair as he let the stress melt away.

Hannibal smirked at his husband and ran a hand through his curls settling it at the back of his neck where he held it, running his fingers through the soft downy curls at the base of his neck. It was a movement that often calmed Will down when he was in one of his stressed out moods.

"Happy now?" Will muttered as he took another bite.

"I'm happy...but I'm not sure you are?" It was more of a question and something Hannibal had noticed about Will for a while now. He knew Will loved his job and took pride in the work he was doing on the ward but he knew him well enough to know when it was getting to him and recently it was pulling Will away.

"I'm happy when I'm with you" Will, smirked up at Hannibal who chuckled at him.

"I'm serious Will, you haven't been yourself lately I'm concerned" Hannibal's fingers tugged at the hairs on Will's head trying to emphasise the seriousness of what he was asking.

"I'm just stressed with all this work Han I promise..." Will hesitated then sighed deeply rubbing his hands over his face. "In truth, I miss the patients...I miss being of use to them on a one on one basis" Will had loved being a porter more than anything and he was thrilled to get the promotion up to ward manager so quickly in his career but a part of him missed the daily interaction with the patients.

"You are of use to them, without you there would be no ward for them to come to" Hannibal reassured but he knew it wasn't what he needed to hear.

"I know...I just miss the interaction" Will would turn up to work at the hospital and head straight to his office where he would spend the majority of his day either in his office or at meetings. It was rare that he would ever get to even see a patient or spend any time with Hannibal.

Another issue that he been getting him down, he would work late just to keep on top of the work load and in doing so he missed out on valuable time with Hannibal.

"I've been neglecting you as well" Will sheepishly looked up at Hannibal hoping he wasn't upset with him for missing one too many dinners.

"Never mind about that" Hannibal dismissed as he suddenly began busying himself with clearing away the breakfast.

"No but I do mind! We're newlyweds Hannibal, we should be in the sweet honeymoon period of our lives where we should be all over each other" Will stood up and stilled Hannibal's hands with a simple touch forcing him to meet his eyes.

"Aren't we?" Hannibal's lips pulled into a smirk as he wrapped his hand around Will's waist and pulled him close.

"I'm serious," he warned with a soft tone to his voice so Hannibal knew he meant it but wasn't annoyed at the physical touch.

"As am I, we have the rest of our lives for that...but if it means that much to you, how about you make it up to me...dinner tonight?" Hannibal asked.

"Dinner, I wont miss it...promise" Will smiled at Hannibal and leant forward initiating a sweet kiss that quickly deepened with Hannibal pulling Will closer and entwining his fingers through his hair till they were pressed against each other. Reluctantly Hannibal broke away and rested his forehead against Will's.

"See you later?"

Will simply nodded his response pressing a quick kiss to Hannibal's lips before untangling himself from the other man.

...........................................

Hannibal's shift had ended and was heading down the corridor that went past Will's office, his plan was to stop in on Will before he left to remind him of their plans for dinner and also to make sure he would be there. Hannibal had allowed himself to get his hopes up and he was going to make sure that Will turned up for dinner and didn't disappoint him again.

Since the wedding nearly a month before they had hardly seen each other and despite what he'd told Will earlier that day, he had been feeling neglected by Will.

Hannibal stopped at the door to Will's office hesitating over the door handle, he wasn't sure what he was going to achieve by reminding Will but a small part of him had hope that tonight he would actually come home on time.

He pushed the door open and hovered in the doorway waiting for Will to look up from the mountain of paperwork piled on his desk.

"Will, you ready?" Hannibal asked hopefully.

"Hey, I was going to text you, I've got these reports to finish it will probably take me another hour or so max" Will's excuse of the day rolled of his tongue as if he wasn't crushing Hannibal's heart with one sentence.

"You promised" Hannibal sounded so defeated as he studied his shoes.

Will sighed looking over at his husband, a stab of pain shot through his chest as he realised what he'd done. "You know what, you're right, I'll finish this report and then join you at home, okay?" Will was asking for approval he knew he should probably drop everything and leave right now but he could at least finish the report he was on.

"Okay, dinner will be ready at 8" Hannibal gave Will a sad smile there was hope in his eyes but he was clearly still upset. Will had a lot of making up to do.


	2. A babies cries

Hannibal had started on the dinner as soon as he arrived home, not even bothering to change out of his work clothes. He finished up the preparations and put the last of the dinner in the over taking his time to make sure everything was perfect.

 

He placed a shined wine glass on the table finishing the last touches of the set up. A smile crept onto his face as he took pride in his presentation skills. The table was beautifully set with the fine china he used for special occasions and the rare dinner party he got to throw. Across the centre of the table he had laid out a purple velvet tablecloth that ran down the middle, on top of that he had three candles spaced evenly apart with ivy vines weaving through them. He had already laid out the starter on the plates and some side dishes of extras they might want to dig into. Hannibal leant his hands on the back of the chair at the head of the table taking in his efforts and the smile that previously adorned his face suddenly disappeared as the small clock on the mantel struck 8 times. He glanced at the clock then down at his silver watch that Will had bought him for his birthday.

 

A shrill beeping from the kitchen drew his attention away from the fact it was 8 o’clock and Will was nowhere to be seen. Hannibal didn’t let it crush his hopes though Will could be on his way home right now.

 

He took the remaining food out of the oven and left it to cool on the counter, by the time Will got home it would be ready to eat he hoped. Hannibal poured himself a glass of wine and sat in a spare seat at the opposite end of the decorated table waiting patiently for Will to return. The ticking of the clock soon lulled him into a false sense of time, before he realised how much time had passed the clock was striking ten and the food in the kitchen had gone cold, he was pretty sure he might have drifted off to sleep at one point and the clock woke him up. The panic at realising the time was enough to send Hannibal into a rage as he checked his phone and there were no messages waiting for him, no explanation as to why he had missed yet another dinner. Enough was enough Hannibal thought, he grabbed his coat from the hanger and left the house with the intent on going down to the hospital and knocking down Will’s office door and dragging him kicking and screaming home.

 

At least that was his plan.

 

………………………………………………….

 

Will finished the report he promised Hannibal would be the last one, he then moved onto the next one. He couldn’t help it he had to get them finished, everything he thought about leaving the reports until the next day a wave of anxiety would press down on his chest and he’d have to take a few deep breaths to calm himself down. In the end he decided that he was better off finishing them as quickly as he could so he could make it home for dinner.

 

The clock in his office ticked away in the background and Will only glanced up every few minutes just to keep track of the time and the closer it got to 8 o’clock the more agitated Will became. He was starting to measure the length of time to how angry Hannibal was going to be when he eventually fell through the front door.

 

It was exactly 8 o’clock when the last report landed on the top of the pile and Will winced at the time on the clock, it was going to take him at least another 45 minutes to drive home and Hannibal was going to be pissed.

 

Will made his way through the ward, the lights were low set to the night setting so they didn’t wake the babies. As he passed the front desk he heard a low whimper coming from one of the side rooms that held only 4 cribs. The whimper suddenly turned into a full-blown scream. Will made his way over to the door and peered inside he was greeted with the sight of a very tired looking night shift nurse who was walking back and forth with who Will recognised as the two month old baby boy that had been brought in by a social worker earlier that day because of a high temperature that wouldn’t go down. From what Will could remember from the report he’d filled in earlier, the doctors had managed to get the temperature down but they wanted to run some more tests to find the cause.

 

“You alright in here?” Will asked in a low whisper so as not to startle the baby or the nurse.

 

“Mr Graham, I’m just trying to settle him but he doesn’t seem to want to” she sounded so desperate as she laughed slightly.

 

“May I?” Will out his bag down and approached the exhausted nurse who happily handed over the infant.

 

As soon as the baby was in Will’s arms his screamed became a soft cry as Will bounced him gently up and down, when that didn’t immediately work he repositioned the baby so he was laid across his chest with his head resting on his shoulder. Being upright seemed to agree with the baby as the cries became whimpers and he began to breath more evenly.

 

“You’re a natural” The nurse spoke, Will had completely forgotten she was still there.

 

“I’ve been told that before” Will smiled back at her rubbing his hand over the babies back to soothe him. Her pager beeping against her hip pulled the nurse away.

 

“Are you okay to stay with him for a little while?” The nurse looked desperately at Will then back at her pager. Sighing Will manoeuvred his hand around to glance at his watch that was already showing angry husband o’clock.

 

“If you have work to do then I’ll stay with him a little longer” Will felt bad both for missing dinner with Hannibal which he knew he was going to be in the dog house for and for this poor nurse who clearly had a lot of work to get done.

 

“Thank you Mr Graham, I’ll be back soon I promise” He’d heard that before, he didn’t hold out too much hope that she would be back anytime soon.

 

An hour passed and the little boy had settled enough that Will was happy to sit down in a rocking chair to save his aching legs from walking around the room. Will had taken a moment with his free hand to skim through the child’s notes, his name Timothy, two months old brought in with high temperature. Will scanned the list of tests that were going to be conducted no doubt the following morning. Other than that there wasn’t much else in his notes. Will held the little boy close to his chest rubbing his hand over the boy’s tummy to try and settle him, he had at least stopped crying but was refusing to go to sleep and would fuss if his eyes drifted closed as he forced himself to stay awake. Will didn’t know a two month old had the ability to stay awake all night but he was fairly certain Timothy was giving it a good go.

 

“Shush, shush, it’s okay” Will laid his head back against the chair and closed his eyes for a few moments until he began to fuss again. “What’s the matter little man? You aren’t warm” Will pressed his cheek against the babies cheek to test his temperature and he felt fairly cool.

 

“You know I was supposed to be at a dinner with my husband this evening, I’m going to be in big trouble because of you” Will’s smile was bright as Timothy grabbed at his fingers. “I’m sure Hannibal will understand why though…if he even believes me” Will sighed wiping his hand over his face to fight away the fatigue. Timothy gurgled at Will and his eyes drifted again. “You are a sleepy baby aren’t you” He chuckled as he rubbed the babies tummy again to see if it would help him fall asleep. “You’re going to make me sing aren’t you? Well I do know one song that seems to work on little guys like you, but I don’t know the Danish version unfortunately so you’re stuck with my rubbish rendition” Will didn’t pretend he was any good at singing but he was out of ideas and it seemed to work when Hannibal did it so it was worth a shot. Plus it wasn’t like there was anyone around to hear him make a fool of himself. Or so he thought.

 

Will began to hum the now familiar tune that had become a song close to his heart since meeting Hannibal.

 

“A gentle breeze from hushabye mountain” Will began and it seemed to have an almost immediate effect on Timothy who yawned for the first time that night and squirmed to get comfy in Will’s arms.

 

“Softly blows o’er lullaby bay” he continued in a low whisper and the baby began to flutter his eyes closed, Will took the opportunity to carefully stand and start moving over to the crib. “It fills the sails of boats that are waiting, waiting to sail your worries away” by the time he reached the crib Timothy had only fussed slightly as they stood but was now almost completely asleep. “It isn’t far to Hushabye Mountain, and your boat waits down by the key”. Timothy was fast asleep by the time Will finished the song, he places a soft kiss to the boys forehead and carefully so as not to wake him, lowered him back into his crib.

 

It took Will a few moments to pull his eyes away from the sleeping baby who looked so peaceful. His phone buzzed in his pocket and it drew his attention back to reality.

 

“Crap, Hannibal!” He opened the awaiting message from Hannibal with panic rising in his chest, he was in so much trouble.

 

From Hannibal:

_I love you, don’t worry about dinner x_

Will was surprised, Hannibal didn’t even sound annoyed, usually when he missed dinner he would know just how pissed off he was but this seemed completely normal, like they hadn’t planned a special dinner.

 

…………………………………………………………

 

Hannibal had stormed through the doors into the empty ward charging towards Will’s office ready to get into the first real argument of their marriage. Just as he reached the door his fist clenched around the handle a startled yelp from beside him drew his attention.

 

“Doctor Lecter, you made me jump! What are you doing here so late?” The night nurse who had been doing the rounds had happened to come around the corner almost walking straight into the senior doctor. “If you’re here to see Mr Graham he’s not in his office” the nurse informed him.

 

“Where is he?” Hannibal had managed to say without snapping at the woman.

 

“He’s in room 4 with the little foster baby who came in today, he wouldn’t settle and he offered to take over because I had to make my rounds” She smiled warmly at him.

 

“Thank you, you should get back to your rounds, if you’ll excuse me I have to go speak to Mr Graham” Hannibal, ever polite, nodded at the young nurse and made his way to room 4. His approach had slowed down somewhat since he first barged into the ward, now he knew what Will was doing he couldn’t help but feel slightly guilty for having just about to accuse him of choosing reports over him.

 

A soft hum emanated from the room as he slowly crept towards the door so as not to startle whoever was singing. He peeked through the gap in the door. Thankfully the corridor behind him was dark enough to not cast a shadow into the room, therefore not giving away his presence.

 

The sight that greeted him almost melted his heart. Will was rocking a tiny baby back and forth whilst softly singing the song that had become their private song. His heart ached to make his presence known but a part of him didn’t want to interrupt the precious moment. As he watched Will kiss the little boy and place him down in the crib, Hannibal took his opportunity to make his escape, he had already intruded on enough and he didn’t want Will to catch him.

 

As Hannibal climbed into the elevator to head back to the car he sent off a quick text to Will, it was short but sweet, enough to let Will know he was no longer upset about him missing dinner…besides, he thought, Will was needed elsewhere tonight.


	3. Photos and the future

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hannibal has a proposition for Will

Will crept into the house. It was now gone 10 and he was pretty sure Hannibal would be in bed by now. If there was one thing he could rely on was Hannibal’s meticulous schedule and that included the time he went to bed.

It was a common occurrence especially in the past few weeks for Will to come home late from work and sleep on the couch so he didn’t disturb Hannibal. It had caused a few arguments between them mostly caused by Hannibal when he came down in the morning and would make some comment regarding his sleeping arrangement.

Will stood looking sideways on into the living room the sofa was clear of the blankets from the night before and they were now stacked folded neatly on the coffee table. He sighed heavily rubbing the sleep from his eyes the thought of sleeping on the sofa again made his back twinge. It was a nice sofa but after a week of sleeping in a cramped space he was ready for the luxury double bed with Hannibal’s expensive cotton sheets.

He trekked upstairs slipping off his shoes so he made as little noise as possible. The door to the bedroom was closed which meant Hannibal was probably asleep already. Will crept into the bathroom to brush his teeth and slide out of his work trousers and shirt pulling on a grey t-shirt that was hanging on the towel rack.

He was nervous as he approached the door, he knew Hannibal had sent that text but that didn’t distract from the fact he had missed dinner again after he promised he wouldn’t. Will had noticed the empty dining room table as he walked through and the tubs of food in the fridge when he went to get a drink. It broke his heart knowing how much effort Hannibal put into every dinner and for him to just blow him off again made him feel guilty.

Entering the room he was surprised to find the lamp beside the bed on and Hannibal sitting up in bed dressed in his favourite plaid pyjamas. He glanced up at Will as he walking into the room smiling warmly at Will.

“I thought you’d be asleep?” Will half asked Hannibal who chuckled to himself as he continued to skim through what Will noticed was a photo album. There were a number of photos strewn across the bedspread taking up a lot of space.

“I thought you were on the couch,” Hannibal wasn’t asking but he curled his lips up into a smile at Will. He wasn’t mad not really but he did want to speak to Will about the issues they’d been having.

“The thought was rather unappealing this evening” Will commented making his way over to the bed and perching carefully on his side so as not to disturb the photos. They sat in silence for a few moments Will scanning the photos in front of him and nervously pinching the corner of the closest photo pulling it towards him. “You’re not mad” Will said in a whisper.

“I’m not mad” Hannibal replied the smirk on his face pointed at the photos in front of him.

“Why not?” Will was confused, after all, cause in the past Hannibal would have kicked off with him or given him the silent treatment for missing dinner.

“You have such empathy Will, you cant help but care for others, its one of the reasons I fell in love with you” Hannibal began turning to look at Will who was avoiding all eye contact.

“I don’t want to miss dinner you know, I have responsibilities to the hospital…but also to you and this marriage” Will was right but he was struggling lately to balance the two aspects of his world.

“You do but those children need you more right now, we can wait, we have our whole lives to figure this out” Hannibal spoke putting the album down.

“I’m confused I thought you’d be upset about all this?” Will was playing with the corner of the throw running his fingers nervously over the tassel.

“I was at first…but then I saw you with that little boy on the ward and I couldn’t help but feel guilty for demanding all your attentions” Hannibal had been feeling bad about it but he also knew he wasn’t asking for much to spend his evenings with his husband.

“You saw that?” Will chuckled slightly at the memory of badly singing a lullaby to the infant.

“I did, it was very sweet, it actually got me thinking about some things” Hannibal almost muttered the last part, something he wasn’t prone to doing, he was the type of man to speak his mind.

“Yeah? Thinking about what?” Will asked curious as to where this conversation was going.

Hannibal grabbed one of the photos on the bed showing Will and him sitting in a booth at one of their favourite restaurants. Hannibal smiled at the memory before looking up at Will who was patiently waiting for an answer.

“Seeing you with that baby tonight, it showed me how great you are with children and it got me thinking about maybe having one of our own?” It was more of a question that he let linger in the air.

“A baby? You want a baby?” Will didn’t laugh but he did seem surprised at the suggestion.

“What’s so wrong with that?” Hannibal asked feeling slightly offended by Will’s surprise.

“No there is nothing wrong with it but do you really think right now is the best time to be considering that big of a decision. We are just about hanging on as a couple as it is, with my promotion and you working the odd hours that you do we haven’t had the chance to be us yet” Will could see the hurt look in Hannibal’s eyes and chose now to place his hand over his back rubbing gentle circles into his skin. “We both know how much of a whirlwind our relationship has been, I mean we went from dating to living together to married in the space of a year and a half. We need to adjust to being together properly before we consider adding a child to the mix”

Hannibal knew what Will was saying was right but his heart was telling him differently. He wanted children because he wanted to share the overwhelming amount of love he had for Will with a child of their own.

“Don’t get me wrong I want kids with you one day I want it more than I can express, I just don’t think right now is the time to be considering it” Will added a little softer this time cause he could see how upset Hannibal was.

“Of course, I know you’re right but I cant shake that paternal instinct” Hannibal gathered up the photos putting them back into the box he had tipped them out of. Will stilled his hand by placing his on top entwining their fingers.

“Han look at me, I love you, you are going to make an amazing father one day and maybe in a year or so once we’ve settled into this new life we can think about a baby. And as of tomorrow I will be coming home at 6 like I’m supposed to and we can make a start on this new life together, before you know it we’ll have two point five kids and too many dogs to handle” Will laughed at the last part trying to break the tension between them. “We okay?” He added pulling Hannibal close tangling his fingers through his hair.

“We’re okay” Hannibal smiled a small comforting smile leaning in to Will’s touch and placing a soft chaste kiss to his lips resting his forehead on Wills. “I love you too” Hannibal added pulling Will to lay down beside him wrapping his arms around his shoulders holding him close to his chest.

“Tomorrow we start fresh, no more late dinners and missed moments” Will tiredly muttered resting his head on Hannibal’s chest, it wasn’t long before the younger man fell asleep. Hannibal ran his hand over Will’s soft curls letting sleep take over him but he couldn’t shift the nagging feeling as he drifted off, the one thing he was craving.


	4. Rumours and decisions

The next morning was like bliss, they ate breakfast together shared a few sweet kisses over the dining room table and took a brief walk around the block with Winston and their other six dogs. Will had refused to get rid of his pets when he moved in with Hannibal and much to his distain Hannibal had agreed to the arrangement of having the dogs sleep in the living room on a night and have free run of the enclosed back yard and summer house during the day, when they were at work. All, except Winston, slept downstairs as Will couldn’t help but hold a soft spot for the collie cross he’d once found wandering the back lanes of his country house.

 

Soon they were locking up the house and heading off to work. Once at the hospital Will and Hannibal parted ways as Hannibal was needed up on lilypad for a minor surgery. He gave Will a quick kiss before heading for the ever familiar elevators.

 

“Still gives me chills seeing you two together” Vera shuddered in exaggeration of her statement as she smirked at Will over the counter. Will had become quite attached to seeing her on a morning considering how they first met she was a permanent fixture in the hospital.

 

“Morning Vera, how are you today? You’re looking lovely as ever” Will was throwing out the pleasantries.

 

“Flattery Mr Graham, I’ve warned you before” She laughed leaning over the counter top to pull him in closer waving him over.

 

“Yes Vera?” Will had a grin on his face as he leant over the counter so they were within whispering distance.

 

“Word on the street, you and Dr Sexy over there have been having some marital qualms, now I don’t want to be hearing these rumours Will, you two have something special and if I hear you’ve been messing him about I wont be happy” She gave him a warning stare but the grin on her lips showed Will she meant it out of love.

 

“Me and Han are fine, you know better than anyone, you were there for our first kiss for crying out loud how could you ever think such things” Will commented.

 

“Not my thoughts William, you should be speaking to Dr Katz about that but you didn’t hear it from me okay!” She leant back in her chair indicating the conversation was over.

 

“Thanks for the heads up Vera, I owe you one” He gave her a mock salute as he walked towards the corridor that lead down to infants.

 

“I’ll hold you to that!” She shouted after him.

 

As soon as he reached the ward he was on a mission to find Beverly, she was the culprit behind the rumours and he needed to put a stop to them before Hannibal found out and certainly because it was unprofessional for his colleague to be gossiping.

 

He buzzed through the doors and saw the suspect heading out of one of the exam rooms.

 

“Dr Katz, a word if you will, my office” Will pointed down the hall and didn’t wait for her to object.

 

“I appreciate this is probably important Will but I have a million things to do this morning and the social workers from yesterday are on my case about Timothy’s treatment…” She was cut off by Wills hand coming up to her face stopping her in her tracks.

 

“Don’t speak, I just need a moment of your time” Will held the door to his office open to invite her inside.

 

“Fine, but then I really need to be getting on” she made her way into the room and hovered awkwardly around the chairs by his desk not really wanting to sit down.

 

“Right take a seat”

 

“I’d rather stand”

 

“Alright, whatever you want, this will be brief anyway. I would appreciate it in future that you keep your thoughts and opinions on my relationship with Dr Lecter to yourself, I’ve heard rumours from a reliable source that you are discussing such matters amongst the staff and it needs to stop now, its unprofessional and quite frankly none of your business” Will didn’t want to get angry with her but he was angry it was his private life for a reason and yes Bev was his friend but she was his colleague at the hospital and he didn’t want his love life to be the subject of gossip.

 

“Oh god, Will I’m so sorry, I was catching up with Heather the other day over on lilypad and it just slipped out that you were having some problems I didn’t mean for it to become gossip you have to know that” She seemed genuinely upset and Will had to believe her, she was his friend after all he had to give her the benefit of the doubt.

 

“Alright, don’t get upset, just don’t let me find out from the receptionists that my love life is being blabbed about please, its called a private life for a reason and I should be able to trust you Bev you’re my friend after all” Will leant on his chair letting out a defeated sigh.

 

“I am your friend Will and I’m sorry it wont happen again, you can still trust me” Will was a tad sceptical on that last statement but he would give her another chance. Now that his love life was dealt with it was back to work.

 

“Now what were you trying to tell me about Timothy?” Will had developed a small attachment to the baby after their little moment last night and what little he knew about his treatment was soon going to be rectified.

 

“His temperature spiked again in the night I think he has an infection somewhere, not sure where so I’m treating him with broad spectrum antibiotics to see if I can clear it, meanwhile the social workers are on my case about his treatment as they cant actually pay for his care” Beverly explained, she was getting more high rate as she went on.

 

“So he’s going to be okay that’s the main thing, and as far as the social workers are concerned I’m happy to pay the bill for him but I need to speak to them about getting him covered and soon because if this happens again there is not a lot we can do” Will tapped the top of his chair thinking through the situation, there was no doubt in his mind that he would pay for the child’s care, it was only a short stay and some antibiotics not going to cost him an arm and a leg really.

 

“What should I tell them?” Beverly broke him from his thoughts.

 

“Send them in here let me have a word, we’ll sort something out” Will dismissed Beverly quickly and he returned to his desk, he dug out the file for Timothy and skimmed through the small amount of information on him.

 

The knock at the door pulled him from his work, “come in!” the door opened immediately revealing two small women in pencil skirt suits almost matching save for one of the women being slightly more stout than the other and her blonde hair stood out of her colleagues brunette ponytail.

 

“Good Morning Mr Graham we are from social services we were told to come speak to you in regards to Timothy Walsh’s treatment” The blonde woman took a step forward holding her hand out in greeting. Will wasn’t one for contact with strangers as it made him uncomfortable but his job required it so he respectfully took her hand.

 

“Yes, apparently there’s a problem with paying for his care, may I ask why?” Will went full manager mode and wasn’t going to show his emotion here regardless of the fact his heart was beating a mile a minute.

 

“Unfortunately due to Timothy being so young he’s still legally under the care of his biological father, therefore the treatment falls on him to sort out, we are currently in the process of gaining full custody but that’s up to the courts to decide, once we have custody we will be liable for any future treatment” The brunette explained she was quiet but to the point and reminded Will a lot of himself.

 

“So where does this leave us at the moment?” Will enquired.

 

“With an outstanding bill for a little boy in our temporary care until his father gives up his rights” the blonde lady chimed in.

 

“As far as his medical bills are concerned I have that covered I am happy to help out this one time, but may I ask why we are waiting?” Will had dealt with social services on a number of occasions in this job but never had he come across a case where they couldn’t pay for a child’s treatment.

 

“His mother is a drug addict and skipped town a week after he was born, we tracked her down in her home town but she didn’t want anything to do with the child, she quite happily signed him over” the Blonde woman began.

 

“Legally the guardianship then falls to his next of kin which in his case was his biological father, we spoke with him but unfortunately he was reluctant to give up the child he’s not a particularly nice man but we cant take his child from him based on his manners. He has been known to take drugs himself but claims to be clean. This was why we reached a dead end” The brunette took over.

 

“Basically what this means is that unless we have some grounds, such as drug use or criminal activity we cant legally take the child he has to sign him over to us” the brunette woman finished leaning forward in her chair, clearly this case was an issue for her.

 

“Where are you up to with the case currently, has the father decided what he’s going to do?” Will asked

 

“Well last week he was arrested on assault charges which is enough for us to make a case but we are waiting on the courts ruling, so for the time being he’s staying with a foster family and we just have to wait for a court date”

 

“When will that likely be?” Will pressed.

 

“Hopefully within the next 3 weeks but we cant be sure”

 

Will sighed heavily tapping his fingers over the desk. It was a habit he clearly had when he had to seriously think something over.

 

“Alright, for now Timothy will remain here until the infection is cleared up, I’ll personally cover all costs of his treatment and as soon as you have a court date set you let me know…I’ve developed a personal interest in this little boy and I would like to see a happy outcome to this” Will stood up to indicate the conversation was over and to show the women out.

 

“Of course Mr Graham we will keep you informed and thank you again for taking care of him” the women smiled as he showed them to the door and thanking them once more he shut the door to the office leaving him finally alone to consider what had just happened.

 

Was he seriously considering this, Hannibal would kill him if he knew what he was thinking right now. This wasn’t good, he needed to get out to clear his head but the one place he found himself going was the one place he probably shouldn’t be right now. At the side of Timothy’s crib reading his chart to distract the nurses from questioning him.

 

The baby was fast asleep when Will arrived, a far cry from the state he was in the night before. It was nice to see him to peaceful, there was something about this tiny baby that had clung to Will’s heart in just one day he couldn’t place it but one thing he did know, he would make sure he would get his happy ending.

 

Yep Hannibal was going to kill him.

 

 

 

 


	5. Secret meetings

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N Just a short chapter to update this story before I can finish the next chapter which will be a bit longer than this and have more of a story progression. 
> 
> P.s. sorry I havent updated this story in a while I've been crazy busy working two jobs and just been a bit stuck with this one but I have a plan now and hopefully will be able to update this story a lot more in the next week or so.

Nearly a week had passed and things were going well between Will and Hannibal, Will was finally making it home in time for dinner and Will had to admit he was finally feeling like a married man. Will had been leaving the ward around half seven each night after spending half an hour checking in on Timothy, he would check his chart make sure he was getting the right medication, give him his evening bottle then read him a story. Its not like he could understand a word he was saying but his voice seemed to soothe him to sleep.

 

It was coming up to the end of the day when social services turned up, Will had spoken to them on and off throughout the week. One of the social workers knocked on the door of the office.

 

“Come in”, Will shouted, he was busy packing up a few files into his bag before heading out, “Can I help you?” Will asked not recognising the young woman at the door. He had dealt with a number of different social workers throughout the week but this woman seemed to hold herself with more prominence.

 

“Good evening Mr Graham I hope I’m not interrupting” The woman was softly spoken and upon closer inspection was around late 40s with shoulder length brown hair that was tied up in a neat ponytail.

 

“Not at all I was just finishing up for the day, how can I help?” He smiled warmly at her, his people skills had been improving since he took this job.

 

“My names Mrs Gilmore, I work for social services, I’ve been assigned Timothy’s case,” She informed him taking position on the opposite side of the desk. Will indicated to the seat his eyes wide with interest.

 

“Take a seat,” Mrs Gilmore did just that and perched on the edge of the chair.

 

“I wont take up too much of your time, I simply came to inform you that full custody has been granted to the state and therefore all medical bills will now be dealt with through us, furthermore I was informed by one of my colleagues that you put in an application with us to be a foster parent” She paused smiling at him “Am I to assume you wish to foster baby Timothy?” She knew the answer but she needed to confirm before she carried on.

 

“Well I know it was a long shot even putting in an application considering my position of care for him, but he’s claimed my heart and I would regret it deeply if I didn’t do something for him now” Will informed her he hadn’t meant to reveal so much but he needed her to know just how much of an effect this small child had on him.

  
“A credit to your character Mr Graham, I understand you’ve recently married?” She asked, Will felt a pang of anxiety hit him.

 

“Been married nearly 2 months now” Will was blunt with his answer and didn’t want to give away too much.

 

“Congratulations, and your husband he’s on board with this decision?” She smirked at the shock in Will’s eyes. “The photo on your desk gave it away.” She pointed to a wedding photo sat on the edge of the desk angled slightly towards her.

 

“Hannibal and I have discussed having a family at some point, I must admit I haven’t been completely honest with him about my plans as far as Timothy is concerned, he does know I’ve grown quite fond of him” Will explained he knew he should have told Hannibal over a week ago when he put in the application but he didn’t want to get his hopes up. Will knew how much Han wanted a baby and after their conversation in bed last week he didn’t want to get his hopes up only to have the application denied.

 

“Well I would recommend speaking to your husband first, this is a big life decision taking on a child, someone else’s child at that” She made her point clear and Will knew he had to tell him otherwise this wasn’t going to happen and Timothy would be lost in the system.

 

“I’ll speak to him tonight, please hold off on your decision until I speak with him” Will knew he sounded a bit desperate but he didn’t care.

 

“Mr Graham please don’t panic, I have been through the details of the case and your application, after a home visit and obviously I’d have to meet your husband I’d be more than happy to put Timothy in your temporary care” Will’s heart almost burst.

 

“You’re serious!” He practically yelped across at her.

 

“Yes Mr Graham, you speak with your husband this evening and give me a call in the morning and we can sort out all the details” She smiled at him standing up from her chair. She rooted through her bag for a moment before producing a small business card passing it across to Will.

 

“Thank you so much Mrs Gilmore” Will shook her hand vigorously not quite realising his own strength or excitement.

 

“You’re welcome Mr Graham, now I’ll just pop in and see Timothy check in with his doctor and I look forward to hearing from you” She had her hand on the door smiling once more at Will who simply nodded in thanks as she let herself out.

 

Will grabbed his phone from his pocket and fired off a quick text to Hannibal.

 

_‘Meet me in the cafeteria I have something to tell you’ W x_

Will slid the phone away and couldn’t help fight the grin that appeared on his face.


	6. meet the family

It didn’t take long for Will to get down to the cafeteria and find a secluded table away from anyone that would eavesdrop. He had ordered two coffees and a muffin each for when Hannibal arrived.

 

_On my way x H_

 

Will’s phone buzzed on the table and he read the notification on the screen not bothering to open it as Hannibal then appeared at the door scanning the room for him. He waved catching his attention.

 

“Hey, I hope I haven’t pulled you away from anything important” Will stood from his chair giving Hannibal a quick kiss before sitting back down.

 

“No more important than you” Hannibal smirked taking a sip of his coffee. “So what was so important” Hannibal gave him his full attention.

 

“Okay” Will took a deep breath before continuing his voice shaky with the nerves, “So you know that baby I told you about Timothy, his mother abandoned him and his father was a pretty bad guy” Will paused allowing Hannibal to catch on.

 

“The baby you were with last week?” Hannibal realised.

 

“Yeah, well social services have been involved in the past week and have said we can foster him” Will hesitated letting it sink in.

 

“Wait! You mean us?” Hannibal looked stunned. Safe reaction.

 

“Yeah… I kind of put in an application last week, I’m sorry Han I should have discussed it with you first but I was afraid they would take him away before I had the chance to speak to you and I don’t know how to put it but this baby he’s stolen my heart” Will was pleading and he knew it but he needed to get Hannibal on his side.

 

“Let me just process this for a moment…last week you said you didn’t want children, at least not right now, I didn’t think you meant in a weeks time!” Hannibal sounded pissed.

 

“I know and I’m sorry it is a mess” Will hung his head low running his fingers through his hair.

 

“Will, look at me, I’m no angry about you wanting to take care of this boy what I am upset about is that you didn’t discuss it with me first” Hannibal’s voice was soft the voice he usually reserved for his patients. “I love you with all my heart and I want nothing more than to raise a child with you, but have you really thought this through?”

 

“He was meant to come to us I can feel it, I know it sounds stupid and illogical but he’s ours” Will whispered the last part not wanting to upset his husband anymore than he already has. “At least meet him?” Will pleaded with his eyes over his tone.

 

Hannibal sighed deeply rolling his eyes ever so slightly, annoyingly this was all he wanted, to have a child with Will but he never expected it to be this soon and in this way. However, a child deserves to be loved no matter where it came from, he thought as a small smile broke out on his face. “I will meet him, for you” He took Will’s hand in his grasping it tightly to reassure Will he was there and nothing was going to scare him away.

 

“You will?” His eyes shot up suddenly feeling optimistic.

 

“Lets go” Hannibal had a cheeky look on his face like a child at Christmas time as he pulled Will up from the table and darted through the cafeteria heading for the elevators.

 

“Han slow down you’re going to pull my arm off” Will laughed whole heartedly as he trailed behind.

 

……………………………………………………………………………

 

It was quiet up on the ward when they wandered through still hand in hand, it was Will who took the lead now heading for the room where Timothy was currently sitting with a nurse who was using one of the many donated toys to entertain him.

 

“Hey, how’s the little guy doing today?” Will asked as he carefully approached the woman sitting beside his cot. Hannibal stayed back hesitant to come close for fear of interrupting something.

 

“He’s loads better than he was, still got a cough but that should clear up soon enough” She smiled and she carefully transferred the baby across to Will’s waiting arms. Once the baby was nestled against his chest he turned to face Hannibal as an invitation to come closer.

 

“This, is Timothy” Will presented wanting to pass the child over but Hannibal took a hesitant step away.

 

“I cant” He couldn’t help but note the look of disappointment from Will. “I am afraid I might drop him,” Hannibal explained looking embarrassed.

 

“Han, you hold children all day you know how to hold a baby” Will laughed passing the child unexpectedly over to his husband, it wasn’t graceful and Hannibal immediately took a seat once the child was in his arms so he could adjust himself to let the babies head rest in the crook of his arm.

 

Timothy was a cute baby, not that any baby wasn’t cute but Hannibal couldn’t help but notice the bright eyes staring back at him. He knew it was impossible but somehow they reminded him of Will.

 

“What do you think?” Will asked hopefully.

 

“I love him already” Hannibal replied a glint of a tear forming in his eye as the tiny baby grabbed his finger in his hand gripping as tightly as his little body could handle.

 

Will stood beside them wrapping his hand around Hannibal’s neck running his fingers through the soft ends of his hair he couldn’t contain the pounding in his chest at the sight of the two together, he was in love with this little family already and it wasn’t even official.

 

“I’ll call Mrs Gilmore in the morning, let her know the good news” Will whispered using his other hand to stroke the small amount of hair on top of Timothy’s head.


End file.
